The invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for processing materials such as woven fabrics or the like, and more specifically for dealing with defects, which may be of restricted areas down to a punctiform configuration, in webs of fabric or like strips of material, during processing and manufacture thereof.
A particular problem which occurs in processing and manufacturing webs and strips of textile material, more particularly the fabrics which are referred to as tubular fabrics, is that of eliminating defects which, in an article of clothing or the like, made from the fabric, would result in the article being rejected. Usually, when portions of webs of material which have such defects are discovered, those portions are cut out before the remainder of the processing or manufacturing operation is performed. That gives rise to considerable disadvantages, having regard to the nature of the processing or manufacturing operation, which should be as continuous as possible.